By the period between 3500 BCE and 400 CE, many social groups in the Mediterranean, Near East, and China had adopted a settled lifestyle, based on agriculture and animal husbandry, which laid the foundations for the rise of agrarian societies and the development of cities. But dependence on agriculture and animal husbandry created new threats, such as the malnutrition and mortality that followed failed harvests, and the erosion and salinization that followed the clearing of forests to make way for fields.

This volume documents the changes to the environment that were wrought by the 'Neolithic Revolution' and engages with key debates such as the extent to which people in Antiquity were capable of permanently damaging the environment and the extent to which the decline of societies and empires in the Classical Period can be explained by deteriorating environmental conditions and natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions.

Drawing upon both visual and textual sources, A Cultural History of the Environment in the Classical Age presents an overview of the period and examines key cultural case studies on the themes of earth; skies, climate, and the atmosphere; work, energy, and power; water; forests; animals; cities and settlements; war; and disasters and resilience.